Aeronautics: Sentimental Journey

To frail, spindly, gentle Auguste Piccard, the stratosphere is not merely a remote layer of the atmosphere. It is an environment, a kingdom, a marvelous sea in which to swim; an Olympus from which to survey Earth's glories. Last week for the second time Professor Piccard penetrated the stratosphere in a balloon. His purpose, as last year, was to study the cosmic rays. But his Shelleyesque spirit was that of a voyager revisiting a world which only he had explored.

The bushy-haired professor, who looks precisely like a cartoonist's idea of a...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!